Marshall Fire lawsuits against Xcel continue to pile up

BOULDER COUNTY — About two dozen more Boulder County neighbors this week joined a growing list of plaintiffs suing Xcel Energy Inc. over its alleged role in the start of the devastating Marshall Fire in late December 2021. 

The lawsuit comes about three months after Boulder County Sheriff’s Office investigators determined that the Marshall Fire, which killed two people, had two root causes: high winds that uncovered a smoldering, days-old fire at the residence of the Twelve Tribes religious group, members of which live at a compound at 5325 Eldorado Springs Drive in Boulder County, and a malfunctioning Xcel powerline that became “unmoored” during the windy day on Dec. 30, 2021.

“Xcel Energy’s electrical transmission and distribution system, including its electrical equipment, are inherently dangerous and hazardous instrumentalities,” the complaint said. “The transmission and distribution of electricity requires Xcel Energy to exercise an increased level of care commensurate with and proportionate to the increased risk of danger associated with electrical transmission and distribution systems. “

The utility failed to live up to its responsibilities, the plaintiffs allege.

In the lead up to the blaze, “Xcel Energy failed to properly design, construct, inspect, maintain, repair, manage, and/or operate its electrical equipment pursuant to the applicable (National Electrical Safety Code) safety standards, accepted engineering practice in the electric industry, and pursuant to any other applicable codes or standards. As a result, Xcel Energy’s electrical equipment caused a fire near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead, which ultimately became the Marshall Fire.”

Residents of the Twelve Tribes home burned material in a yard on Dec. 24, a week prior to the start of the Marshall fire, buried it and assumed that the flames were extinguished, investigators said. 

Twelve Tribes is an international organization with several thousand members that has been accused by past members of labor exploitation, child abuse and racist teachings.

Soon after the high winds on Dec. 30, 2021, transformed the smoldering material into a blaze at Eldorado Springs Drive, “hot particles discharged from an Xcel Energy powerline” several thousand feet away from the initial fire and started a new blaze in a grassy area,” Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson said last month. Investigators found that this line malfunction was likely not related to the Eldorado Springs Drive residential fire; however, the two blazes quickly converged and together started the Marshall Fire.

The new plaintiffs, according to their complaint, suffered “damage to or destruction of real or personal property or damage from smoke, soot, and ash; loss of natural resources, open space, evacuation and out-of-pocket expenses, damages related to the fire’s impact on businesslike activities, past and future loss of income, or lost wages; costs associated with response and recovery, including debris removal, emergency response, or other costs; loss of use of real and/or personal property, damages based on soil erosion, and loss of soil stability and productivity; damages related to water contamination including water quality preservation and correction expenses; loss of water storage; loss of aesthetic value; emotional distress and non-economic damages.”

The case is Pangle et al v. Xcel Energy Inc. et al, case: 2023CV30675, filed Sept. 19, 2023, in Boulder County District Court.